Senior Bowl: Day 3 North Observations

Bill Huber/Tim Yotter

01/23/2013

Opinions vary on the quarterbacks, for obvious reasons, because Mike Glennon and Ryan Nassib have had such up-and-down performances. That and much more from Wednesday, the last major day of practice in Mobile, Ala.

Listening to those who study quarterback play and draft analysts, it's clear that opinions on the quarterbacks vary wildly. Some like Mike Glennon's footwork and others think he has a ways to go with his consistency. Some believe Ryan Nassib is a first-round pick. Others just don't see it. So which quarterbacks go in the first round will depend largely on individual characteristics the teams are looking for and how far up teams are willing to push quarterbacks because of a need.

Glennon throws a beautiful deep ball. He threw a bomb for a touchdown to Texas' Marquise Goodwin and should have had another long touchdown but the ball was dropped by Oregon State's Markus Wheaton. Then again, Glennon threw a wobbler on a deep out that should have been intercepted.

Nassib has shown upper-end talent in flashes, such as an outstanding pass between two defenders to Wheaton, but he's dropped a few snaps and thrown a few clunkers that were nowhere near their intended target, including on a deep stop route by Elon's Aaron Mellette and a post-corner.

San Jose State guard David Quessenberry has looked solid and showed he knows how to adjust on the fly. During one turn, he was blocking down on a combo block and alertly picked up a late stunt coming around the edge.

Texas defensive end Alex Okafor had another good day. He seems to be the only player on the North squad that can consistently challenge highly touted left tackle Eric Fisher of Central Michigan. They have put together quite a battle this week.

North Carolina defensive tackle Sylvester Williams continues to impress. He can beat his man with speed or power and has a love of the game.

Oregon State's Wheaton has showed good speed all week and made another impressive catch across the middle of the field Wednesday, showing he isn't afraid to roam where the big hitters can reside.

Colorado tight end Nick Kasa has put together a solid week. At 6-foot-6, 260, he is a big specimen that defensive backs have occasionally shied away from, but somehow he has found a way to separate from smaller linebackers on occasion, too.

Another day, another practice with dropped passes by Michigan's Denard Robinson. He dropped two in a row and, if you were a tough grader, might have given him a drop on a high pass that went through his hands. He did, however, make an outstanding adjustment on a leaping catch at the sideline. With the ball in his hands, he's as dynamic as anyone here.
Oregon State cornerback Jordan Poyer bounced back from a blatant holding penalty to smother a pair of deep outs.

With no tackling to the ground, it's harder to get a true measure on inside linebacker Kevin Reddick (North Carolina), but does appear to read and react well to the action in front of him.

There's more than one way for a linebacker to play pass defense. You can do what Reddick did, and charge forward at the snap and knock the running back – Fresno State's Robbie Rouse, in this case – right to the ground at the line of scrimmage.

Staying in the state of Oregon, running back Kenjon Barner did not nothing to hurt his stock in one-on-one drills. In pass protection, he bounced back from a couple of bad reps to easily win a rep against Rutgers linebacker Steve Beauharnais. Then, running a route against Reddick, Barner beat him downfield for a long touchdown catch. Later, he left Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene in his wake to make a catch on an out-breaking route.

Staying with the running backs, UCLA's Johnathan Franklin had two impressive wins in pass protection but dropped what would have been a long touchdown catch after beating a linebacker.

Division II linebacker Ty Powell made a few more impressive plays, including excellent coverage to deny a seam route to Kasa and scooping up a fumble on a botched snap to Glennon.